8 great Microsoft Edge features that make switching worth it
Microsoft’s Edge web browser is great. There, I said it. Read More …
Category: Sell a Business
Sell a Business. Find that unique Business for Sale here, within our Exclusive Networks. This is where Investors search.
Discord and Slack are becoming potent tools for malware attacks
Attackers are finding the file-sharing capabilities in popular group-chat apps such as Discord and Slack a convenient way to distribute malware, warns a new report from Cisco Talos, Cisco’s threat intelligence unit. The risk isn’t just that hackers can gain access to a particular channel and trick people in it into downloading malware. Once a file containing malicious code is uploaded, attackers can also grab a freely accessible link to that file where it’s hosted on the chat system’s servers. Then, they can send that link to people via phishing emails, misleading texts, or any other method they have of reaching potential victims. In some cases, malware can connect to these sorts of links to download additional malicious code once it’s already running on victims’ machines. Some malware also uses group-chat apps to share data with and receive commands from the people operating it, according to the report. In particular, Discord has an API (application programming interface) that enables programs to automatically post messages to channels on the service via a digital address called a webhook. That’s useful for many legitimate purposes, but it’s also valued by malware creators who want their software to essentially phone home from infected machines. And during the coronavirus pandemic, as more people are using platforms such as Discord and Slack to stay in touch with friends, coworkers, and others, so too are criminals moving to these tools for their own convenience, according to the Cisco Talos researchers. Malware and commands sent through these channels can blend in with other, legitimate traffic. “We’ve seen a marked increase in the abuse of collaboration apps like Discord and Slack to be used to both distribute malware and as a command-and-control system,” says Nick Biasini, a Cisco Talos threat researcher who worked on the report. Functionality such as that offered by Discord “allows them to manage command and control without having to manage their own server.” One challenge for people trying to thwart these attacks is that malware and commands sent through these channels can blend in with other, legitimate traffic to files and chat rooms hosted on these platforms. Seeing a URL that mentions Discord, Slack, or another trusted channel might also help lull users into a false sense of security when it appears in a phishing email. And it’s also not possible for security experts to take down the domain hosting the malicious content, since it’s commingled with legitimate Slack or Discord files from around the world rather than on a domain of its own. In some cases, hackers use malware to harvest digital access tokens that can be used to connect to Discord, according to the report. Read More …
The ‘Space Jam 2’ trailer shows how old Hollywood is dying
Like its beloved predecessor, the new Space Jam , subtitled A New Legacy , features a host of familiar Looney Tunes characters. There’s Bugs Bunny, of course, and Daffy Duck and Yosemite Sam, all of whom starred alongside Michael Jordan in the original 1996 film. Back then, the commingling of two worlds—the NBA and kids’ cartoons—felt exciting and fresh. More than two decades later, however, commingling is far too quaint a word to describe the veritable orgy of Warner Bros. Read More …
Why the Air Force has its own venture capital fund
The Defense Department is trying to renew its once robust relationship with Silicon Valley to find the technologies needed to confront 21st-century threats. The Air Force is taking the novel approach of establishing a venture capital firm within its ranks that locates, invests in, and opens doors for promising defense startups. AFVentures is a division of an Air Force technology acquisition and development group called AFWerx (the AF stands for Air Force and Werx is shorthand for “work project”) established in 2017. AFWerx is something like the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) within the DOD, which began looking into the private sector for promising defense technologies back in 2015. For many years the DOD has relied chiefly on technologies developed either within the government or by a small group of large contractors such as Boeing or Raytheon. There’s a growing belief within defense circles that to address the new nontraditional and cyberwarfare threats on the horizon, the U.S. needs to tap into the cutting-edge innovation happening outside those universes. Sidestepping the ‘Valley of Death’ One of the biggest things AFVentures does is help small startups survive the brutal process of qualifying for a defense contract. The DOD’s procurement process is famous for its complexity and slowness. It’s a five-phase affair that starts with technology analysis, then moves to product prototyping, then engineering and manufacturing, then production and deployment, and ends with operations and support—and that’s if the project isn’t rejected or starved of funding. It’s a mind-numbingly labyrinthine system clogged with red tape and paperwork. Larger contractors have large staffs of people to wade through the process, but smaller tech companies face a real challenge managing all the work. That means a smaller startup might do a successful pilot project for a branch of the military but then parish while waiting for a sustainable long-term contract to materialize. Read More …
Inside BritBox’s strategy to hold the streaming British TV crown
You love British TV—even if you don’t know it. For decades, British programming has enjoyed massive success in the United States, with breakout hits such as Downton Abbey , Sherlock , Doctor Who , The IT Crowd , and more. Even indirectly, British shows have influenced culture stateside. There are the oft-cited adaptations such as The Office , Veep , Shameless , Whose Line Is It Anyway? , and Skins , where both versions usually coexist in their fandoms. But then there some shows so rooted in Americana, it’s easy to forget they too were based on or inspired by British shows: All in the Family ( Till Death Us Do Part ), Sanford and Son ( Steptoe and Son ), Three’s Company ( Man About the House ), and Cheers ( Fawlty Towers ). Whether it’s the shows themselves or just the format and plot, British programming has a hold on American audiences—and niche streamer BritBox has been capitalizing on that. As a joint venture between the BBC and ITV, BritBox launched in the United States in 2017 as the premier destination for British programming. Many speculated whether two TV titans from across the pond could collectively rival the likes of Netflix stateside—but that was never the intent with BritBox. Instead, BritBox was contending with other Anglophilic players such as Walter Presents and Acorn TV (a service owned by AMC Networks, which also has a minority stake in BritBox), both of which were already established with U.S. audiences. Even within that specific category, BritBox is a standout, with more than 1.7 million subscribers. At the core of BritBox’s success has been super serving an overlooked demographic of women 45 and older who, by BritBox’s measure, are heavily invested in mysteries and crime stories. “There’re a lot of [streaming services] out there who are trying to be all things to all people. That is not who we are,” says Emily Powers, EVP and head of BritBox North America. “We are very much trying to meet an unfulfilled demand for certain types of content to a certain demographic, and that’s been the key to our success.” Although there is a pernicious bit of conventional wisdom that the streaming giants will overwhelm more tailored offerings, there are many niche players owning their communities in a way that an everything-to-everyone service never will. The Criterion Channel caters to cinephiles; Mubi , even more so with a heavier focus on curation. kweliTV focuses on Black content. Read More …